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Monday, February 03, 2003

The European Commission has drafted a directive on music theft that's causing the music industry to have kittens. See, the EC has twigged that the real problem isn't people sitting in bedrooms downloading the odd Lulu track, but the people making shitloads of CDs - and other dodgy goods - who are the challenge.

Indeed, they can see that twatting the heads of people using Napster and its children is going to hobble development of an information-rich euro society. So the directive concentrates on hooky goods and ignores downloading. One industry commentator has already moaned that it goes "against the principles of US law" - um, yes, hello? Europe? - and we can expect a whole heap more moaning as the impact sinks in.

The new proposals include going after people who make stuff to create false authentication labels, which is interesting, and probably will mean the closure of every market stall in the north west.